The retailer said its celebrity campaign helped drive the late male “guy buy” Christmas shoppers, alongside stronger online delivery options, giving consumers more confidence to shop later in the days leading up to Christmas.

“We also had a wider product offering and higher stock levels of key lines, coupled with an exceptionally strong wholesale growth of 72 per cent with ASOS and House of Fraser,” the retailer said.

Ann Summers said its strong first half so far puts the business in a “good position” to continue its investment programme in systems, stores and people.

“We are confident of another year of profit growth for 2016/17,” the retailer said.